Someone mentioned french toast the other day and suddenly I had a huge craving that seemed to be lasting for days. Since it’s not often that I crave sweet flavors for breakfast, I decided to take advantage of this sweet tooth when I woke up on Saturday morning. Instead of the traditional way of making it, I thought I would browse the world wide web for some different variations. I was curious how people made vegan french toast, and my search results included many recipes using bananas and soy or hemp milk instead of eggs. This sounded amazing, so off around my neighborhood I went on the hunt for some ripe bananas (not an easy thing to find in a world where scars on produce seems to equal bad in most minds). Alas, I stumbled upon a nicely ripened batch of the tasty yellow fruit at my local bodega. Since I generally prefer almond milk over soy, and I had some on hand, I used it as my second main ingredient. I threw in some cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and a touch of cardamom for a little added flavor and topped the french toast off with some extra banana slices and a drizzle of raw agave syrup. I can honestly say that I enjoyed this version much more than traditional french toast. It felt a bit lighter and healthier, the banana flavor was delicious and it left me with a lot of energy which I took advantage of with my first bike ride of the season. Here’s how I made this…

2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups almond milk
Spices to taste (I used a healthy dash of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and a small dash cardamom)
6 slices of bread (I used Genesis Sprouted Grain Bread)
2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Place bananas, almond milk and spices in food processor or blender. Blend until Smooth. Pour into shallow bowl or onto a plate. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Dip both sides of the bread in the batter and place in the pan. Cook for a few minutes on each side, or until browned but not burnt. Transfer to plate and top with banana slices and agave.